“The
loss of the Queen’s Bath in Kapa`ahu hits me hard. My
kids and I love going to the popular swimming hole in the mid-80’s. Its
crystal clear waters nestled in the large lava rock crack provide
a great place to swim, sunbath or just relax. Guava and passion
fruit are readily available. It’s the perfect spot. So
it is with great sadness that I witness its demise in the spring
of 1987. And it was just prior to that inundation that I had
my fist encounter with a methane gas explosion. Park Ranger
Mardie Lane took a still photographer and me to a small heiau, a
rock platform used historically as a Hawaiian temple. The
lava is surrounding it on its way to
the Queen’s Bath. As we stand on the rock I hear

a loud crack and a rush of gas up my pants leg. I know instantly
that it’s methane gas, created by organic matter that decomposes
without oxygen. It is often ignited by the heat, but this
time, thank God, it remains in its vaporous form as it travels
up my leg. As you might well imagine, we take off
like rabbits. A
similar, but potentially even more deadly experience occurs while
we are waiting for the first house in Kalapana to be taken by Pele’s
fire in early 1990. The lava has surrounded the house, but
slowed in its approach. Several photographers lie down on the
grass to sleep a bit during the night. They awaken and move
as activity picks up… just moments before a huge methane explosion
blows a five-foot square hole in the very place they’ve been
sleeping. Understandably,
this event makes for many restless nights thereafter."

“VolcanoScapes 3…Living
on the Edge!”

“The
beautiful coastal village of Kalapana… drainpipe,
Walter’s store, Kaimu Black Sand Beach, the Star of the Sea
Painted Church, Harry K Brown Park and the Waiakolea Ponds. It
is with great sadness that I speak of my fond memories there… the
destruction of this area in 1990 is absolutely heart-breaking. Agonizingly
slow, and incredibly thorough… it is so difficult to watch
the devastation of many old friend’s dream homes. The
Dresslers, the Gapps, Julie Beardsley and many, many others.

The
agony felt by the residents by the inevitability of their homes’ demise
is unimaginable. Some liken their homes to cancer victims… as
Mike Bartlett told me… “You know they have to die… you
just hate to see them go.” And Kalapana residents never
know exactly when it will happen… the flows take fully two
months to make their way through the community. A few are spared… most
are not. But the “not-knowing” is maddening. Many
don’t have insurance… and those who do can’t collect
until their homes actually burn down. If the lava stops at the
doorstep, there is no claim… their home is always smoke damaged
and the property worthless… ending up between a rock and a
hot place.”

“VolcanoScapes Four… Kilauea’s
Flow to Kamoamoa”

“Over
the years, the Fire Goddess Pele’s battles with
her sister Na Maka O Kaha`I, the Goddess of the Sea, have created
numerous black sand beaches along the Puna coastline. But
it will be a long time before they will be surrounded with palms
and coastal plants. One exception… at least for a time,
was Kamoamoa. It
would appear that the ancient fishing village of Kamoamoa was built
around a beautiful black sand beach. It was not. Until
shortly before 1990, the coast was lined with rugged cliffs thirty
to fifty feet above the sea. But inthe
late 1980’s, the continual explosive activity of Kilauea’s
ocean entry at nearby Kupapau point created lava fragments
or “black sand.” The sand was carried by oceancurrents
and deposited on the rocks in front of Kamoamoa

Village
to form this half mile-long beach. Abandoned
years ago by the Hawaiians, Kamoamoa had become an idyllic setting for
picnics and gatherings. I watched the formation of the beach at
Kamoamoa, walked on the coarse black lava sand, and swam in the rough
water there. But its beauty was lost when Pele came to reclaim
her creation in late 1992. I saw what few people ever get to see… the
creation and destruction of a beautiful Hawaiian beach… all in
less than three years.

Unstoppable
in its march to the sea, the lava leaves us few reminders of what
once was. The park has bid a fond aloha to its Waha`ula Visitor Center,
as well as tens of thousands of archeological features, including
prehistoric temple ruins, house sites, and petroglyphs. Kamoamoa Campground
and stretches of Chain of Craters Road lie entombed beneath 80 feet
of basalt. Every minute of every day, another 55,000 gallons
of molten rock gush from earth cracks on the volcano's flank.”